Linda E. Perle

Director of Legal Services Policy Expertise civil legal aid

Linda E. Perle is the Director of Legal Services at CLASP. Ms. Perle's focus is civil legal assistance for the poor. She plays a key role in national efforts to preserve and strengthen the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) and the federally funded legal aid program. She writes extensively about the LSC legislative and regulatory framework, and she is co-author of a highly regarded history of civil legal assistance in the United States.  Ms. Perle also serves as counsel to the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA). She regularly appears before the LSC Board and its committees on regulatory matters. She works closely with the staff of NLADA, the American Bar Association (ABA) and other organizations involved in the delivery of legal assistance to the low-income community.

Ms. Perle is actively involved in the D.C. Bar. She is a current member of the Steering Committee for the D.C.  Bar's Section on Courts, Lawyers and the Administration of Justice. And she is a past member of the Board of Governors (1990 to 1995), a past member of the Pro Bono Committee (1997 to 2003) and a past member of the Joint Task Force on Technology for Legal Services Providers and the Committee on Pro Bono for Small and Mid-Size Law Firms. Ms. Perle is a current board member of the National Equal Justice Library, and she served from 1996 to 2003 as Vice President of the Board of Directors of the national Appleseed Foundation.  She is a long-time board member of Washington Council of Lawyers, which, in 2001, awarded her its President's Award for commitment to the values of pro bono and public service. Ms. Perle graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1969 and from Harvard Law School in 1972.